Bull Tattoo
by Lady Illiya
Summary: Gendry decides to get a tattoo. Originally published at ao3.


Bull Tattoo

When Gendry approached the parlor, he couldn't help the eye roll at the name, 'Stark Tattoo's'. He bet it was a play off of the whole stark naked phrase, but it was still a bit tacky. He definitely wouldn't have come here if he hadn't been referred to it by multiple people, and all the rave reviews online. When he pushed open the door to a little bell alerting his presence, he couldn't help the surprised look on his face. The place looked nice, way nicer then the outside, with a clean reception area and a hall leading to what must be tattoo and piercing rooms off it.

At the desk was an average looking girl with striking red hair, when she reached out to wave him over to her, he noticed an arrow tattooed to the inside of her forearm, ending at her wrist.

He walked the short amount of steps over to the desk, and when she looked at him expectantly he said, "Uhh, I'm looking to get a tattoo."

"No shit, really?" the girl responded sarcastically with, and at Gendry's, quite frankly, offended expression, she let out a big laugh. "I'm just messing with you. You've come to the right place, our artists are awesome, do you have anything specific in mind?"

Gendry nodded, still a bit thrown by the girls cavalier attitude. "I want to get a bull, on my back."

She nodded, "That's awesome, you lookin' for realistic, color, black and white?" she asked. At his confused face, she let out another laugh, "No problem if you don't know, how 'bout you take a look at the portfolios, they're right over there," she paused leaning over the desk to point at the coffee table, "If you get any ideas, or like a certain artists style, just let me know, k? and we can sort you out."

He walked over and sat in one of the waiting chairs, pulling the closest binder towards him, the label just said 'S' and when he flipped it open was immediately thrown by the beauty of page after page of portraits. Some were in grays, some color, all amazing. As much as he wanted to keep looking, this artist didn't have any animals, or really anything beside portraits, so he set the portfolio back and reached for the next.

This one was labeled "J" and had more variety in it then the previous portfolio. He flipped through it and saw Celtic knots, mechanical, and even some amazing tribal tattoos. The artist was good, but once again he saw very little animal tats, and figured he should check out the rest in case someone was better.

He grabbed the second to last booklet; "A" and grinned when he flipped it open to the first page. A beautiful wolf, black and grey with a bit of red to highlight stood out on the front page. As he continued to flip the pages he only became more impressed. Page after page of beautiful animals, landscapes, even some cartoony animals were thrown in. This artist was clearly the one for him.

He went back up to the reception stand and awkwardly cleared his throat so the woman would look up from her phone. When she did she smiled and asked, "Found someone you like?"

He nodded, "I liked all of 'em, but I think 'A's' best."

She nodded, looking unsurprised, "Yeah that doesn't surprise me, they're gonna be free in about 15 minutes if you wanna stick around for a consult, otherwise you could make an appointment and come back a different day."

He gruffed out an "I'll wait." Before heading back to the chair and slumping down in it. He pursued the portfolio's again as he waited, and about 20 minutes later a small petit girl with impressive sleeves walked out from a room down the hall followed by a slightly overweight older man. He watched as the girl reached up and rubbed her neck, rotating her head to crack it. He frowned, she must've been sitting for a tattoo for awhile based on the crack he heard from where he was sitting. She threw a glance at him as they walked up to the red head, to whom she spoke with briefly and then walked over to stand in front of him.

"You looking to get tattooed?" she asked, hand popped on one hip as she looked down on him.

He nodded, "Uh, yeah, kinda why I'm here, right?" he realized he was being a bit grumpy, but he didn't come here to get hit on by some chick, regardless of how cute she was, he'd rather her leave so he can talk to the artist behind her about what he wanted.

She snorted at that, "Well, what're you thinking about getting?"

He half glared at her, "I don't see how that's any of your business." He glowered.

She raised an eyebrow at him, and before she spoke, the man from before walked passed them towards the door, nodding at her and saying, "Thanks again Arya, this is the shit." As he gestured to his back, before exiting the shop.

'Fuck' he thought, looking back at the women in front of him, her face expectant, as she waited for him to catch up. "Ahh...fuck, you're 'A' aren't you?"

She smirked at him, before coming around to sit next to him, pulling a sketchbook out from the shelf under the little coffee table. "Yup, that's me, if you have a problem with a girl tattooing you, there's the door." She pointed a pencil at said exit, "But if you want a kick ass tattoo, how about you tell me what you want and I'll draw something up for you to look at." She smirked at him as she flipped open the notebook to a blank page.

He stared at her playful grin that caused a swoop in his stomach for a second before returning the smile. Oh he wanted her to tattoo him, he wanted her to do other things to him too, but he figured a tattoo was as good a place to start as any.


End file.
